


A New Chance

by VyxenSkye



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, I don't know if I'll come back to this or not, M/M, Mechpreg, On Hiatus, Pre-War, baby!Starscream, baby!Twins, semi permanent hiatus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-03 06:36:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VyxenSkye/pseuds/VyxenSkye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ratchet and Wheeljack are more than happy to run their little clinic/workshop, but when they venture out one day and find a pair of abandoned sparklings, their lives will change forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The twins are by far my favorite characters, and I've read many stories that have them as abandoned sparklings, and so I sort of wanted to do my own. This was also a way for me to write something before the war, and have my fill of tiny!Cybertronians at the same time. I'm fairly mean to just about everyone in this story, but don't worry, things will work out. I think. 
> 
> Most of the medical/scientific stuff here is made up of what I've seen in other places mixed with my own interpretations. I know it's all probably horribly unbelievable, but I did my best to make it seem logical, if nothing else. It makes sense to me, so I can only hope that I'm not the only one.
> 
> Unbeta'd, though I try my best to catch the nasty bits. 
> 
> Vorn = Cybertronian Year  
> Metacycle = Month  
> Cycle = Week  
> Orn = Day  
> On-Cycle = Daytime  
> Off-Cycle = Nighttime  
> Joor = Hour  
> Breem = Roughly 15 minutes  
> Klik = Minute  
> Nanoklik = Second
> 
> ::comm speak::  
> \--bond speak--

 

Chapter One

Ratchet awoke from what should have been a perfectly warm, comfortable recharge, and was instead, for some Primus forsaken reason, impossible for him to achieve. He rolled his optics angrily, wanting to roll over, fidget, something, but he didn't want to risk waking the recharging mech that was practically laying atop him.

            A fond smile passed over his faceplates despite the grumpiness of not being able to recharge. He could feel Wheeljack's frame pressed along his own, as well as the warm, rhythmic gusts of air from his vents against the back of Ratchet's neck. That light 'snore,' an anomaly in Wheeljack's vocalizer that Ratchet had never really (purposely) fixed, something that always made the medic smile and his spark flare with love for his bondmate, was present as always.

            Sighing faintly, Ratchet closed his optic shutters once more, trying to power down, but something just wouldn't let his processor rest. He shifted, and with a faint static sound Wheeljack's optics onlined and opened. "Ratch?" he asked blearily, blinking before managing to focus on the back of his mate's head.

            "Sorry 'Jack. I was trying not to wake you." Ratchet murmured, wriggling in Wheeljack's embrace so they could make optic contact.

            "'S alright." Wheeljack said, one hand petting across Ratchet's side absently. "Couldn't recharge?"

            Ratchet shook his helm. "Just couldn't seem to turn off my thoughts."

            At that he got a grin. "You never could. Want to go for a drive? Or a walk? That always seems to help. Might clear your processor a bit."

            With another sigh through his vents, Ratchet pushed himself up and off the double berth. "A walk would be nice."

            Wheeljack stood after he did, allowing his bondmate to lead the way out of the apartment they shared above the clinic and workshop that they owned, moving through the darkened streets quietly. The white and green mech didn't say anything, but he could see the set of Ratchet's optic ridges that showed that his mate was clearly troubled by something.

            "I don't know 'Jack..." Ratchet said after a moment. "I've just got this... feeling in my spark. Like there's somewhere I should be, someone who needs my help."

            Taking a step closer, Wheeljack gently bumped his shoulder against Ratchet's. "Well, odds are if someone needs your help, they'll come to you before too long."

            Ratchet humphed. "As if they could go--" he stopped. "Did you hear that?"  
            Wheeljack stopped. "... No. What did you hear?"

            "Shh!" Ratchet hissed, holding up a hand, his optics narrowed as he intently stared at an alleyway they had just walked past. The medic closed his optics, routing power to boost his audials as he took a few steps back towards the darkened area.

            There.

            He opened his optics and dialed his audios back to normal, and then moved into the alleyway, scanning the area intently for the source of the tiny sound he had heard. Wheeljack followed him quietly, his own scanners running, looking for what he wasn't sure.

            Another sound, and this time both of them heard and recognized it for what it was.

            A sparkling's cry.

            Ratchet upped the power to his scanners, looking around. "Come on, little one, make another noise so we can find you..." he murmured, mostly to himself.

"Here!" Wheeljack suddenly called. Ratchet whirled and was shocked to see that his mate was pointing at a nearby trash receptacle. He moved forward quickly, and with Wheeljack's help yanked open the heavy door.

            There was a small wail from inside, and Ratchet turned on the surgical lights he had in his chestplate. He instantly felt his spark constrict, his processor protesting what he and his mate had just found.

            Two tiny bodies, curled up together beneath some scrap metal, one still, the other occasionally kicking out weakly, barely even disturbing the trash around him. Wheeljack made a static filled sound, and slowly Ratchet reached out, shifting the scrap away from the sparklings.

            "They're so small..." Wheeljack whispered as Ratchet began to scan them, the results flashing on his HUD.

            "They're premature." Ratchet replied, his vocalizer sounding with anger even as his hands carefully lifted the infants, infinitely gentle. The one that was still online was larger than the other, but both of them were still way smaller than newsparks should be. Ratchet could fit them both in the crook of one arm. "They can't have emerged more than an orn ago."

            Wheeljack rumbled faintly. "Who would have done this?"

            Ratchet huffed, carefully passing off the still moving sparkling to his bondmate, mentally cataloguing his systems, noting low energon levels, low charge, and barely online optics that were probably not even seeing them. "A piece of scrap that doesn't deserve to live. Throwing away sparklings... I can't even imagine!" He started to move, cradling the still infant in his hands. "We need to get them back to the clinic if I'm going to save either one. This one... I'm not sure if he's going to make it."

            There was barely any energon in the motionless form in his hands, and his scans told him that the sparkling's O2 systems were underdeveloped. He wasn't getting enough air to keep his engine combustion stable; he likely hadn't been since he'd emerged. As a result, he was frighteningly weak, on the cusp of stasis lock.

            Ratchet knew that if the tiny sparkling slipped into that state, he would be gone. He needed to get him back to the clinic and find a way to supplement his O2 intake until he could get a hold of an incubation tank that would assist in developing the sparkling's own systems. He could put in a call for a favor at Iacon General; his mentor Patchwork was the CMO there, he would help if he could.

            The trip back to their clinic was a stressful one, Ratchet spending every nanoklik scanning the little body in his hands, Wheeljack trying to comfort the weakly squirming sparkling in his own. At least the other wasn't crying anymore, only small whimpers periodically as little hands grasped at air and feet kicked faintly.  

            As they went, Ratchet sent a ping to Patchwork, expecting him to answer shortly, if not immediately. Sure enough, barely a klik went by when he heard his mentor's gruff voice in his comm.

            :: _What do you want at this joor, Ratchet?::_

_::I need a favor, Patch. Have you got an incubation tank I can use for a while?::_

There was a faint pause. _::Incubation tank? Did you have something you needed to share with me?::_

 _::I'll explain when you get here.::_ Ratchet replied, knowing by the tone of his mentor's voice that he was already working on securing the tank.

            _::I'll be there within a half-joor.::_

With that the link cut off, and Ratchet felt relief flood his systems. As long as he could keep the weak sparkling stable for a half-joor, things should be better once they got him in the tank that would assist his venting as well as help him finish development that should have been completed in the gestation chamber.

            Once back at the clinic, Ratchet quickly hooked up both sparklings to energon drips, easing the spikes into barely there lines. The larger sparkling had wailed faintly when Ratchet had inserted the drip, but had quieted after a few moments as the mild sedatives in the energon lulled him into recharge. Both Wheeljack and Ratchet breathed a faint sigh of relief as he slipped off; with a little energon and charge he would be fine.

            Ratchet turned his attention back to the smaller infant, scanning him continuously. The energon had helped, but the red and white medic knew that there wasn't much else he could do at this point. He had laid a mask beside the sparkling, one that was fitted for a youngling, as that was the smallest one he'd had. The oxygen was blowing in the sparkling's face, which was the most he could do. They would just have to wait.

            Having a few moments, Ratchet fetched a few cloths and soaked them in a mild solvent, handing one to Wheeljack. "Why don't we clean them up a bit, if only so we can tell what color they are underneath all this muck."

            Carefully Ratchet lifted the tiny sparkling's arm, rubbing along his forearm gently but firmly. It took only a few swipes before color began to peek through the gray-brown dirt that covered him, but it was easy to see that the sparkling's still-soft infant armor was a rich golden yellow color. He would no doubt be an extremely handsome little mech when he was clean and healthy.

            Hearing the soft whistle from Wheeljack's direction made the medic look up, and he saw that the other sparkling had a beautiful crimson color to his form. Wheeljack's fins flashed a happy yellow as he met his mate's optics. "They'll make a striking pair." the engineer said lightly. 

            There was a ping at the door, and then Patchwork stepped inside, tall and rather imposing. Ratchet spared no time to greet his mentor, motioning him forward and clearing a space for the incubation tank that Patchwork carried in his arms. The red mech raised an optic ridge at first, but his expression grew serious as he saw the pair of sparklings, his gaze drawn specifically to the tiny, gasping yellow form.

            It took the two medics only a breem to set up the tank and get the sparkling moved inside. Ratchet began to scan again while Patchwork finished programming the tank, and another breem passed before the smaller mech let out a vent of relief. "Stats improving already. He'll be fine."

            Patchwork nodded. "Now then, want to tell me where you got these two?"

            "We found them in a trash receptacle not far from here." Wheeljack murmured softly, continuing to clean the little red sparkling. At those words Patchwork's optics swept sharply towards him, his gaze slightly murderous as his plating flared aggressively. The inventor raised a hand, trying to placate the large medic. "Don't know where they came from. We heard crying and found them inside...."

"Throwing away innocent sparklings...." Patchwork growled. "I'll make some comms, see if I can find out who did this. They'll have to answer to me."

            Ratchet scoffed. "After I'm through with them." He sighed, running a hand over his tired optics. "You'll need to find a place for them at Iacon General..."

            Patchwork shook his head. "No can do, Ratchet. Unfortunately there's been an outbreak of some sort of sickness that we haven't identified yet, and the sparkling ward has been quarantined in order to keep them safe. We're even diverting all expecting carriers to other locations. I was actually going to contact you once the on-cycle came and see if you would take over the care of a few carriers."

            The red and white mech sighed faintly. "Of course this would happen right now. Alright, send whomever you need, I can care for them. I need some more practice with carriers anyway. I can contact you if I need anything for these little guys, right?"

            A nod answered him, and then a moment of quiet before Patchwork spoke again. "You noticed, right?"

            Ratchet nodded. "Yes. Exact same spark resonances."

            Wheeljack seemed to realize. ".... Twins? Split-spark twins?" His fins flashed happily. "The third set ever! The first born since the time of Nova Prime! We have so little data on Dreadwing and Skyquake, and Runabout and Runamuck were out of touch with main medical facilities until they were vorns old, this is the perfect opportunity to study them from emergence! Can we find out who carried them? If they're this close to Iacon General, there must be data on the carrying--"

            A smack on his helm made him stop and look at his bondmate with a wounded gaze. "Calm down Wheeljack." Ratchet said, his voice fond.

            Patchwork couldn't help but smile faintly at this exchange, but then he sobered. "I'll get in contact with a friend of mine, Prowl. He's one of the Enforcers here in Iacon, I'll have him come see you tomorrow." He grinned. "That actually works out rather well; he and his mate are expecting. You can meet them and perhaps even do an exam."

            Ratchet nodded. "In that case, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kick you out, mentor. 'Jack and I need some recharge."

            The taller mech waved a hand. "Of course. Comm me if you need me."

            With that he left, leaving the two mechs alone with the small sparklings. Ratchet moved to the store room to the side of the main medical area, pulling out a sparkling-sized berth and pushing it towards the incubation tank, raising the sides so the red sparkling would be safe. Wheeljack carefully laid him in the berth, managing to withdraw without disturbing him.

            The two stood there, watching for a moment as the red sparkling squirmed, a look of discomfort on his face before he rolled towards the incubation tank and went still with a little sigh. Ratchet chuckled faintly, and then turned to retrieve the two fold out berths from the nearby storage area. As he worked with Wheeljack to set them up beside the twins, the medic connected to the systems in the medbay, bringing up the twins' vitals on his HUD and setting alarms to sound should they change, at the same time silencing the machines that were making noise in the room so they could get some recharge.

            Silence fell as they settled into the two pushed together berths, and Ratchet had just started to cycle down into recharge when...

            "We're going to have to think of names."

            Ratchet sighed. "I imagine we will. Now go into recharge."

            Quiet...

            "We can't just call them Red and Yellow."

            "Wheeljack..."

            "Sorry..."

            Systems slowing, processor starting to dial down...

            "We... Ratchet, can we keep them?"

            That made Ratchet online his optics, opening the shutters to look towards the pair of sparklings. He could only just see the tiny golden one, now venting easily and deeply in recharge. "I... I don't know, 'Jack."

            Wheeljack shifted behind him, wrapping his arms around Ratchet's waist and pressing his un-masked face against his mate's neck. "Is it bad that I want to?"

            Ratchet shifted, rolling so he could look into his bondmate's face. "'Jack..."

            "I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." the white mech offlined his optics, letting out a faint sigh before his systems began to power down.

            Ratchet swore faintly. That was just like his spastic bondmate; bring up a huge issue like this one and then power down into recharge, leaving him to think about all the difficult things all night-cycle. He huffed faintly, and managed to drift off while watching their two new charges, finally safe and on their way to being healthy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything in this story. Sadly.

Other than a few moments where the red twin squirmed faintly and whimpered, both of the sparklings slept through what remained of the night cycle. Ratchet managed to get some decent recharge, even with the thoughts that Wheeljack had talked about bouncing around his processor.

            It was an interesting thought, and one that Ratchet couldn't say he didn't think about a lot and rather seriously. He and Wheeljack had talked of a family a long time ago, but it had been found that Ratchet couldn't spark; his systems could support and carry a sparkling, as could Wheeljack's, but the chance the medic's spark would bud another was infinitely small. They had tried before, but never managed to conceive.

            Because of that, there had been talk of adopting. This chance that they had been handed was beyond hopes, and the idea of raising a pair of twins, something so rare and special, was one that Ratchet was seriously entertaining.

            He woke earlier than Wheeljack, rising to his pedes in order to check on the smaller twin and make sure things were running smoothly. Now that he was in the incubation chamber, the yellow sparkling's oxygen systems were developing well; Ratchet judged that he could probably be out of the tank within a few more orns. In the meantime, he could be taken out for short times over those orns for physical contact, which he would crave. Sparklings were extremely tactile, and ones this young would need to be able to form bonds with their caretakers.

            Ratchet stood beside the red sparkling's berth, and after a few moments he carefully lifted the infant into his arms, taking care not to dislodge any of the tubes that were connected to him. Big baby blue optics opened and onlined, and the sparkling stared up at him, silent for a long moment. Then there was an inquisitive chirp as little hands patted at Ratchet's red and white chassis, followed by a coo before the sparkling cuddled close and proceeded to look around the room curiously.

            The medic smiled, brushing a finger along the sparkling's cheek and earning a few clicks and tiny digits wrapping around his pointer finger. Those big blue optics looked up to meet his, and they just stared at each other for a long moment. Little hands stretched up to pat at Ratchet's cheeks, and then the sparkling squealed happily, a smile stretching his little lips. Those tiny fingers were warm against his face, and in that moment Ratchet knew that he wanted to keep them. He just knew that he and Wheeljack had found them for a reason; they were **_meant_** to be theirs.

            A sound behind him made him look up; Wheeljack was standing behind him, a smile on his unmasked face and his optics gentle. "You want them, don't you?"

            Ratchet nodded after a moment. "They just... It's a feeling."

            The little red sparkling interrupted them both with a big, squeaky yawn, making them both look down at him and smile warmly. Shifting against Ratchet's chest plate, the red sparkling seemed to be looking for something, and as his optics settled on the tank that contained his twin he calmed, watching the golden sparkling with a few contented chirps.

            "He's quite determined to stay by his brother's side." Wheeljack observed. "Always looking out for him. He's going to be a good brother."

            "He will. I just hope that we can keep them so they can stay together." Ratchet shifted uncomfortably. "If they go into the foster system it's highly unlikely that anyone will adopt both of them. There aren't many mechs that are able to care for two sparklings, let alone the demands that will come from split-sparks. They'll need more medical care, more watching..." Ratchet trailed off, and the red sparkling cooed at him as though trying to comfort him. He rocked the child, and after a moment he settled, yawning again before shuttering his optics and beginning to drift off.

            Wheeljack smiled faintly. "We'll find a way. We can talk to... Prowl? Was that the name  your mentor said?" At his mate's nod he continued. "I'm sure he can help us out. We have the ability to care for them, the money, the home, I can't think of any good reasons for us not to be approved to adopt them."

            "Perhaps." Ratchet replied, gazing down at the recharging sparkling in his arms.

            He prayed with all his spark that they would be able to keep them. He'd never wanted anything so badly in his life.

 

*************

 

            As the day went on Ratchet became more and more convinced that the sparklings belonged with them. The little yellow one had woken on his own a few joors after they woke for the on-cycle, his optics bright and curious as he looked around the room from the safety of the incubation chamber. Ratchet had judged it safe to take him out of the tank for a short period of time and had bonded with the smaller twin near instantly. The golden sparkling had stared at him for a long moment, chirped brightly, and then snuggled against Ratchet's chassis.

            Wheeljack watched all this with a smile on his features, his fins glowing a soft happy blue as he watched his mate coo and chirp back to the little sparkling in his arms. "Such a bright little thing!" Ratchet cooed to the golden sparkling as he carefully cleaned what hadn't been gotten earlier. "I'm sure that your spark glows like a little sun!"

            "... We could call him Sunny." Wheeljack inserted quietly. "That's a good sparkling name."

            Ratchet blinked, meeting Wheeljack's gaze before looking down into bright little optics. "What do you think?" he asked softly. "Sunny?"

            The sparkling stared at him, then sneezed.

            Ratchet laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Sunny it is." He carefully lowered the golden sparkling back into the incubation chamber, closing it and watching as the newly christened Sunny squirmed faintly before yawning and starting to cycle down into recharge. They would most likely recharge in fits and bursts for the first few orns; their systems weren't quite fully developed, and they needed the energy that came from recharge. "Now we just need to think of a name for your brother."

            Said brother was squirming on his mini berth, his fingers in his mouth and a faint smile on his tiny features. Wheeljack tickled his belly and the sparkling stared up at him, not yet understanding the sensation and that it was funny, though he cooed up at the engineer happily. Ratchet chuckled at this, taking a few steps closer to disconnect the lines from the tiny sparkling; there was no more need for them now that he was alert and healthy.

            "We could just call him Red." Wheeljack murmured faintly. "I've known a few mechs with that name."

            Ratchet shook his head. "No, I feel like that's giving up. I was thinking more along the lines of.... Chase. He's been such a squirmy little thing ever since he had enough energy for it, no doubt we're going to be chasing him around as soon as he figures out how to move on his own."

            Wheeljack chuckled faintly at that, running a hand gently down the red sparkling's cheek and getting a bright chirp in response. "Sunny and Chase.... Sounds good to me."

            At that moment there was a knock at the door and Ratchet sent a ping to the system to open it. A black and white mech entered, Praxian in frame with his wing panels held high and formal behind him. The white symbol of the Iaconian Enforcers was printed on both panels, marking him as a part of the peace-keeping squad, and his features were serious, golden optics scanning the room. As he made optic contact with Ratchet a faint smile crossed his lip-plates. "You are Ratchet?"  
            The medic nodded, returning the faint smile. "That's me. I'm going to assume that you're Prowl." At the mech's faint nod his smile increased and he looked around the tall Enforcer. "Patchwork spoke highly of you. Is your mate with you?"

            "That'd be me!" the voice was bright and cheery, coming from behind the Praxian mech. Ratchet watched as a shorter silver mech, Polyhexian by the look of him, took a step out from behind his mate. He had sensor horns and a rather unique visor, gleaming softly and a smile on his features. "I'm Jazz, pleasure to meet'cha!"

            Ratchet smiled, continuing to look the shorter mech over. He could see the faint curve of Jazz's abdominal plates, and his medic's instincts prompted him to scan the expectant mech. "I'd like to get a detailed scan of you, Jazz, if that's alright. Patchwork sent me a copy of your previous scans this morning, and I've looked through them, but I'd still like to have my own scans at this stage in your carrying."

            Jazz nodded, stepping forward to where the medic directed him to sit on a nearby berth. "Of course. I figured that would be the case."

            "Have you experienced anything that you wanted to talk about?" Ratchet asked as he initiated a few scans of the silver mech. The sparkling was developing well; its spark was still within Jazz's chamber, but would most likely migrate down to the budding protoform within the mech's gestational chamber within the cycle. Jazz was nearly halfway through his carrying, and seemed to be doing well according to his scans.

            "I think that I felt movement the other orn. And the nausea has finally passed." Jazz said, his voice light and happy as he settled back beneath Ratchet's scans.

            Ratchet smiled at the comment about movement; most carriers were excited for that development in the carrying process. "Judging by your time, I would say that you have perhaps a decaorn before you really start to feel it moving. The sparkling should migrate some time in this period, and that is when the movement will get stronger and you'll start feeling some punches and kicks. Prowl, you'll be able to feel at that point as well."

            The Enforcer's doorwings fluttered slightly in happiness at that, a faint smile ghosting across his features. Jazz chuckled faintly at his mate, and Ratchet was surprised as his visor flipped up, revealing large attractive optics with an almost noble slant. They were a stunning shade of white, an extremely rare color in any of the frame types. Ratchet couldn’t help but blink slightly as those white optics focused on him. “Can we find out if it’s a mechling or femme yet?” Jazz asked. “I’ve been feeling some emotions and whatnot, but nothing that would give me any hint as to that.”

            “You wouldn’t; it’s very rare that sparks transmit much more than basic feelings of enjoyment or discomfort. Some carriers never feel anything from their sparklings.” Ratchet explained with a smile. “As for your question, I should be able to once your sparkling migrates. I’ll also be able to let you hear the spark pulse at that point; as it is right now it would be over-powered by your own, Jazz.”

            A wide smile spread across the silver mech’s face and he very nearly bounced where he was sitting on the med-berth. Prowl’s lips twitched up slightly as he watched his excitable mate, and then he turned his attention back to the red and white medic. “Will there be any pain when the sparkling migrates?”

            Ratchet shook his head. “There shouldn’t be. Perhaps some discomfort, but nothing painful. If there is, you need to contact me immediately.” Both mechs nodded, and then Prowl shifted with a faint flutter of his door wings.

            “On to business, if we could Ratchet. Patchwork informed me that you found a pair of sparklings?”

            The medic nodded, taking a step away from the med-berth and allowing Jazz to jump down, his optics flickering to the smaller mech as his visor snapped back down. Wheeljack, who had stayed back with the sparklings, took a step forward at this moment, his fins flashing with a pleasant aqua. “Hello.”

            Ratchet reached a hand out to his mate. “This is my bondmate, Wheeljack. He was with me when we found the sparklings.” He stepped forward as he heard a questioning chirp, smiling down at Chase as the little red mechling squirmed in his mini-berth. Tiny arms waved, and Ratchet reached down to carefully lift the sparkling into his arms. Chase cooed happily and snuggled close to him before turning his attention to the two mechs who were looking at him curiously.

            Jazz took a step closer, a big smile on his features. “He’s a handsome little fellow. I can’t believe that anyone would want to get rid of him!”

            Prowl nodded. “That is a serious offense. I have a difficult time believing that any mech or femme could make the decision to discard an innocent sparkling, let alone two.”

            “The other is the big issue.” Ratchet murmured faintly, carefully transferring Chase over to a cooing and clicking Jazz as the silver mech asked to hold him. He turned to where Sunny was contained in the incubation tank, watching them curiously and squirming. The yellow sparkling let out a shout as optics finally turned to him, waving his little arms in an easily recognized gesture as a plea to be picked up. “I’m sorry, little one.” Ratchet cooed, stroking his fingers across the glass. “You need to be in there for a while before I can take you out again.”

            “Is something wrong with him?” Jazz asked, his optics on the tank even as Chase mouthed on his fingers.

            Wheeljack nodded. “His O2 systems are underdeveloped; both of them are premature, by at least two cycles. Chase, the one you’re holding, Jazz, seems to have taken much of the nutrition while in the gestation chamber. He’s larger than his brother, and has nearly completely developed systems, at least enough that he can survive just fine without a little help. Sunny will be fine after a few orns in the incubation tank.”

            Jazz blinked. "I thought that two cycles away from the emergence date was an acceptable amount of leeway."

            "It is for a single sparkling." Ratchet replied. "For twins, it's actually recommended that they remain in gestation for as long as possible, even past emergence date. These two were basically okay, but those two weeks may have made all the difference for Sunny."

            Prowl, who was recording nearly everything in order to formulate his investigation, looked to Ratchet. “Where did you find them?”

            “In a trash bin not far from here. We can show you, if you like." Wheeljack went to a nearby terminal in order to pull up a map so he could show Prowl the location. The Enforcer stepped after him, and Jazz looked to Ratchet.

            "You said twin?"

            Ratchet nodded. "Split-spark."

            "Wow..." Jazz murmured, looking back down at the sparkling in his arms, who was mouthing at silver fingers with an intense sort of concentration. "Haven't been many of those. And I think this little guy is hungry."

            "Scrap..." Ratchet muttered. "I haven't gotten my carrier protocols switched on just yet, so I haven't been cycling Energon for them... I didn't expect them to be hungry just yet, I know I've got some substitute around here somewhere..."

            Jazz grinned. "I could feed him. I've had mine on for about a cycle now, Patchwork said it wasn't something I can control in the beginning. Besides, it would be good practice."

            Ratchet blinked. "Would you? They could both use some carrier-enriched Energon at this stage, especially Sunny. It would do wonders for their systems. They probably don't need much, with my having them on Energon drips..."

            A nod answered him. "It's okay, Ratch, like I said, I could use the practice anyway." He carefully began to shift Chase in his arms, and with a smile Ratchet came forward to help guide him. The first feeding for new creators was always a little awkward; figuring out how to hold the sparkling so that it would be comfortable for both carrier and infant could be a bit of a challenge.

            "Here, curl your hand around his helm... There, like that." Ratchet encouraged, helping to get Chase cradled in the crook of Jazz's left arm while his right hand cupped the tiny sparkling's head. The feeding line extended from the silver mech's wrist, and with little guidance Chase latched on, suckling strongly.

            Jazz blinked at the sensation, and then his engine purred comfortingly. Ratchet smiled. "A good strong latch. I get the feeling that he'll be begging to be fed all the time. Thank you Jazz, I'm not sure what I can do to repay you."

            The silver mech shook his head with a smile. "Don't worry about it. You're taking care of me and my sparkling, I feel like the least I could do is help you out with these two. Can Sunny be taken out of the incubation tank? I can give him a full tank too, it would probably be helpful."

            Ratchet nodded, feeling affection for this mech that he barely knew bloom in his spark. "I really do appreciate this." 

            Another shake of the head answered him, but Jazz didn't need to say anything as Prowl and Wheeljack came closer. The Praxian blinked when he saw his mate nursing the tiny red sparkling, and then a faint smile passed over his face. Jazz grinned widely at him. "Practice!" he chirped brightly, at which Prowl merely shook his head fondly.

            Chase broke off, making a face and squirming. Jazz blinked down at him. "Did I do something wrong?"

            Ratchet chuckled faintly. "Not at all." He lifted Chase from Jazz's hands and held him belly down after laying a cloth across his own knee, rubbing at his back-plates. Chase squirmed again, and then spit up Energon onto the cloth with a gurgle of his tanks. He cooed after this, and then smacked his lips, prompting Ratchet to hand him back to Jazz. As the sparkling started suckling again Jazz laughed softly at the contented expression on his features.

            Whimpers and clicking made them look around, and Ratchet saw that Sunny was squirming in the incubation tank, a pout on his face and his little fists waving. Knowing that the golden sparkling was only moments away from bursting into tears, the medic swooped in, carefully opening the tank and lifting the upset sparkling. "Now now, little one, none of that. We haven't forgotten you over here."

            Sunny settled in his arms, though he was still twittering faintly and mouthing at his own fingers. Ratchet smiled at this. "You'll get something good in your tanks as soon as your greedy brother is done."

            Jazz laughed again, and then held Chase out to Wheeljack. "He's finished now. Give me Sunny, I'll take care of this."

            Getting Sunny to latch was much harder; he was already upset and squirming, so he kept turning his head despite both Jazz and Ratchet's attempts to get the feeding line into his mouth. Finally the little sparkling grabbed onto the line, just mouthing at it for a moment before starting to suck.

            "There we go." Ratchet murmured with a fond look on his features. "We might have to fight with him a bit at feeding time, I think."

            Jazz grinned. "I think that he'll do fine when he's not upset at being left out. He seems like a good little sparkling." Sunny squirmed again, his lips popping off the line. Jazz cooed to him, and gradually coaxed him back to drinking.

            Ratchet watched this all with a faint smile. "You're a natural, Jazz. You'll do really well once your sparkling comes."

            "Thanks Ratch." Jazz replied, his expression warm and gentle as he watched the infant in his arms.

            After the silver mech had cleared Sunny's tanks and the little golden sparkling had stopped nursing Ratchet watched them with a smile on his features. "I really do appreciate this Jazz. You really had no need to do it."

            Jazz shook his helm. "These little guys have been through so much already, and they've only been online for barely 2 orns. The least I could do was to give them full tanks and a little bit of affection." He looked down at Sunny, and then frowned worriedly. "You'd better get him back in the incubation tank. He's starting to get a bit of a wheeze."

            Ratchet took the sleepy sparkling, nuzzling him faintly before putting him back in the tank. "I'll be happy when he can be out of the tank full time. It's not fair to him to be stuck in there while his brother gets to play and snuggle with us."

            "He will be better in a few orns time." Wheeljack said softly, rocking Chase against his chestplate. The red sparkling yawned widely with a squeak, making all the mechs in the room chuckle. "And I hope that they'll both stop sleeping so much once their systems even out."

            A moment passed, and then Ratchet spoke quietly. "Is there any way that we'd be able to keep them, Prowl? I know that they would normally be taken into custody and put into the foster system, but we... we want them, and Wheeljack and I have been talking about applying to adopt a sparkling, it'll be so difficult to find them a home where they can stay together...."

            Prowl held up a hand. "I will not make any promises, Ratchet, but I will tell you that I will do everything in my power to keep them with you. It is obvious that you care about them a great deal already, and it is also true that finding them a home together will be exceedingly difficult."

            Jazz stepped over to his mate, leaning against his side and smiling back at the medic. "Don't worry, Ratch, we've got some great contacts. I know a pair of mechs that are on the council in charge of the placement of orphaned sparklings, so I'll talk to them. Actually, if I remember right I believe that you'll be meeting them soon anyway. Patchwork said something about diverting carriers to you, right?"

            Ratchet nodded. "He did. I should get a few appointments here in the next few orns."

            "They'll most likely be one of the first. 'Warp is within a cycle of his emergence date." Jazz replied, a smile on his features. "I'm actually a little surprised that they haven't commed you already; TC, Thundercracker, is always on top of things like that, and he's damned protective. They're good mechs, I'm sure if they find out about the situation and see how much you love these little guys already, they'll try to get you approved for them."

            "This is all assuming that the creators do not return." Prowl murmured quietly. "Given the state that the twins were discovered in, it would be simple to keep them out of their hands, but if they were so inclined, they could possibly get them back."

            Ratchet growled, his armor flaring aggressively. "I won't let them be taken. Not after the condition that we found them in. Sunny had maybe a joor left before he slipped into stasis lock, which in his state he would have never woken up from. Chase was barely any better, and if Sunny had died, Chase would have followed. They don't deserve to be creators, whoever they are."

            Prowl's lips quirked in a faint smile at this. "I agree with you, Ratchet, and we can only hope that we can gather enough evidence against the mechs that did this. I will be in contact with you whenever I have news."

            With that the two bots left, Jazz giving a cheerful wave and a 'thanks!' as he followed his mate out the door. Ratchet smiled as the door shut; he knew he was going to like the two of them quite a bit, and he looked forward to seeing their sparkling. He received a ping to his comm system a moment later, and, just as Jazz had predicted, it was a mech who identified himself as Thundercracker.

            _::Hello::_ Ratchet replied, his voice friendly. He liked carriers, it would be a pleasure to handle one who was so close to emergence. Seeing a newspark enter the world was a joy that couldn't be found anywhere else, and the red and white medic didn't get the chance often, so he relished it when he could.

            _::My designation is Thundercracker; Patchwork told me to contact you to see to my mate because of the illness in Iacon General. I was wondering if we could come see you this orn, or perhaps the next? Skywarp is close to his emergence, and it would be best if you saw him before that, I believe.::_ Thundercracker's voice was warm and deep, pleasant to listen to.

            _::I currently have no appointments today; if you'd like you're welcome to come by within the joor.::_

_::That would be perfect.::_ The relief in the other mech's voice was unmistakable, apparently Jazz hadn't been kidding when he'd said that Thundercracker was protective of his mate. _::We'll leave shortly.::_

The comm was cut off without much ceremony, and Ratchet turned to Wheeljack, who had watched this all quietly. "New appointment?" the inventor asked quietly, so he wouldn't wake the two sparklings who were just settling down into deep recharge.

            "The Thundercracker that Jazz spoke of. They'll be here within a joor." Ratchet began to ready the berth for the new carrier. Knowing that the mech was far into his carrying cycle had him bringing out a few things that he knew the pair would want to see; his equipment that would be on hand for the emergence, as well as the tank that would be used to clean the newspark. Once emerged a sparkling needed to be cleaned of the nanite fluid that covered their bodies, as well as their vents cleared in order for their engines to spark for the first time.

            Wheeljack brought over a few of the soft mesh blankets that were kept with the sparkling supplies, setting them with the equipment. "Should we move Chase and Sunny into our room so they can recharge?"

            "No." Ratchet replied. "It might be selfish and manipulative of me, but I'm hoping that their seeing us with them might help them make the decision to help us."

            The inventor could only smile slightly at those words. He too hoped that these mechs would find it in their sparks to help them. The twins would need a loving family, one that was willing to keep them together, and he and Ratchet were nearly desperate to keep them. He was certain that he had never wanted anything more in his life, except perhaps his bond to Ratchet.

            As he watched Ratchet carefully shifting the mini berth and the incubation tank to the side, a look of soft affection on his features and infinite care in his movements, Wheeljack knew that he would do anything to keep the new little additions in their life. It had been so long since he had seen such happiness in Ratchet's features, since they had discovered that it was likely that they would never have sparklings of their own.

            He would do whatever it took to keep that happiness in his mate's features. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've seen Sideswipe referred to as Chase before somewhere; I'm not entirely certain where, but I mean no offense to anyone with that. I truly just thought it would be a good sparkling name for him.


	3. Chapter 3

A ping from the door made Ratchet look up from where he was monitoring Sunny, and with a faint smile he coded the door open. To his surprise the mech who walked in was a Seeker, frame slim and light, the wide sweep of his wings a deep shade of blue. Seekers were rare to see outside of Vos, they mostly kept to their own.

            The mech that followed the blue Seeker was a matte black color, and his abdominal plates were swollen and round, and with a mere glance Ratchet could tell that the sparkling had recently dropped into the Seeker's pelvic cradle, indicating that he had perhaps a few orns before emergence. He was leaning on his mate's arm, and the discomfort was clear to see on his faceplates.

            Ratchet quickly stepped forward. "Come, sit down, make yourself comfortable. I know how uncomfortable being on your feet must be at this point."

            The black Seeker smiled faintly at that, scoffing as he settled onto the berth that Ratchet indicated. "Yea, you can say that again... Little brat won't let me get any peace, be it pain or otherwise." He smoothed a long hand over the curve of his abdomen, a smile on his face despite the tone of his voice. "I'm Skywarp, by the way."

            "Ratchet, it's good to meet you." the white and red medic replied. "I'll go ahead and get a scan of you, but I can already tell that your little one is ready to emerge."

            "Is he?" the blue mech, who had to be Thundercracker, asked with a grin. "Perhaps 'Warp can stop complaining now." He turned his gaze to the medic. "How long does he have, you think?"

            Ratchet smiled faintly. "The scans show that he's settled with his helm down, which is wonderful because I can't imagine having to bring a Seeker that's upside down through emergence. And he's settled right into your pelvic cradle indicating that you have perhaps 2 or 3 orns before emergence."

            Skywarp let out a sigh, leaning back onto his hands. "Thank Primus for that. I can't wait to be in the air again..." Thundercracker chuckled at this, wings fluttering faintly in his humor.

            The blue Seeker then turned his gaze to the equipment that had been brought out, scanning the items before looking to Ratchet. "You're very well prepared. Do you often assist carriers?"

            Ratchet shook his helm. "No, not usually, but I have plenty of experience. I studied alongside Patchwork for 8 vorns, and have helped 18 carriers through emergence. It has, however, been a vorn since I had carriers in my care. Wheeljack and I opened this clinic, and since then I haven't gotten many." He smiled faintly as Thundercracker's wings flared in approval, a smile on his lips. "Were there any questions you had for me?"

            "Everything seems to be good." Thundercracker replied. "Patchwork explained the signs that Skywarp was approaching emergence, so we know when to come to you."

            Skywarp made a faint groaning sound. "Not looking forward to that part. It's gonna hurt."

            Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle. "Once you reach me, I can deaden pain sensors and we can judge things based on the monitors. However, if something goes wrong..."

            "I get to be in pain." Skywarp chirped in reply, lifting a hand to rest it atop the prominent curve of his abdomen.

            "Unfortunately."

            Anything else that they might have said was interrupted by a loud chirp from nearby, and Wheeljack swooped down to lift Chase into his arms. The sparkling twittered at the inventor, and as his optics landed on Ratchet he let out another chirp, raising his little hands towards the white and red mech.

            Wheeljack's fins flared with a startled green, and Ratchet laughed at his mate and the tiny sparkling. "Looks like he likes me better already." Ratchet said, cooing to Chase as he lifted him from Wheeljack's arms.

            The inventor huffed faintly. "Well then. I'll just have to be sure to win Sunny's affections."

            Skywarp craned his neck, trying to see the infant that Ratchet held. "Are those the twins you found? Jazz commed us just before we got here and told us what happened."

            Ratchet nodded. "He mentioned that he was going to comm you. And yes, this is Chase, his brother Sunny is still in recharge over there in the incubation tank." He took a step closer to the Seeker. "Would you like to hold him?"

            The black Seeker grinned widely, stretching out his arms in preparation. Ratchet carefully passed the red sparkling over, and watched with a fond smile as Chase stared up at the new mech holding him with wide optics and slightly open lips. He had no problems handing the infant to the black mech; Seekers were widely known for their protective instincts when it came to sparklings, it was hard-wired into them. As such, they were often in charge of sparkling centers, dealing with the care and placement of orphaned sparkings, and other similar jobs. Primus help the mech who attempted to harm a sparkling with a Seeker keeping watch.

            Skywarp thrummed faintly, a sound that came from deep in his chassis. Chase blinked his little optics, and then attempted to imitate the sound, revving his tiny engine in a pale reflection of the noise that had come from the Seeker. Laughter echoed from all of the mechs in the room, and Skywarp passed the sparkling back to Ratchet.

            "A fine little mechling." the Seeker said, his voice warm. He watched as Chase made a happy sound as his optics turned to Ratchet's face, snuggling close to the red and white mech's chassis. "And he seems to be very attached to you, despite only having them for an orn."

            Ratchet smiled in response. "We're very attached to him, and his brother. We'd love to adopt them, but..."

            Thundercracker cut him off. "It will be difficult to find a caretaker who wishes to adopt a pair. Most are not looking for that, and cannot afford more than one. Put in the application, Ratchet, Skywarp and I shall make sure that it is given special attention for these two. It would be in the best interest of the sparklings to be together, after all, and a couple completely willing and able to adopt them will be an easy sell."

            A wide smile bloomed across Ratchet's face, and Wheeljack's fins whirled with pleased aquas and yellows. Chase, sensing the happiness radiating from the mech that was holding him, squealed and flailed his little limbs. Ratchet couldn't help himself, he leaned down and nuzzled his face against Chase's belly, to which the infant squirmed and patted at the white helm with a smile across his features.

            The two Seekers watched with gentle optics; they recognized a pure love when they saw it. The medic and engineer were already very obviously attached to these little lives that they had saved, and Thundercracker made a vow to himself at that moment, that he would do everything that he could to make sure that the twins stayed with this couple.

 

************

 

            The next few orns were full of happiness of a caliber that Ratchet hadn't experienced since his first days bonded to Wheeljack. Each orn was bright with the two little lives that had entered theirs, and now he couldn't imagine things any other way.

            Prowl was still attempting to locate the parents of their twins, but there was so far no luck, and Ratchet would be lying if he said that he hoped the Enforcer found them. Good riddance, he thought.

            The orn after he first met Skywarp and Thundercracker the blue Seeker had commed him to let them know that their application had been approved and, pending the decision of a final judgment, they would know by the end of the metacycle if the twins would officially be theirs. Unless the twins' creators were found, Thundercracker was confident that they would be approved once the waiting period of a metacycle passed. He had no doubt that they would be written in as the twins' guardians if not for the standard metacycle of searching for creators that was required to take place when orphaned sparklings were found.

            This news had been wonderful, along with the fact that Sunny's O2 systems were now developed enough that he could spend most of the orn out of the tank, though Ratchet still had him recharge in it, and most likely would for a cycle or two, just to be certain. Both sparklings were now active and settling into a normal schedule after 4 orns of being with the medic and engineer, and it was plain to see that they were happy and content. Chase had taken to Ratchet quite strongly, smiling when the medic came into view and chirping loudly while waving his arms to be picked up. Sunny, on the other hand, had bonded firmly with Wheeljack, twittering for the mech's attention whenever he was in the room.

            Ratchet was thrilled to see them growing stronger every orn, smiling, interacting regularly, and often demanding attention and cuddles. They were healthy and happy sparklings, as they should have been from the beginning. Both medic and engineer were happy to see that there appeared to be no lasting effects from the ordeal they had gone through in their first orn of life.

            It was the middle of the off-cycle of the 4th orn that they had found the twins that Ratchet got a rather frantic comm. He woke out of a solid recharge, the first one he had back in his own berth since the twins arrived, sitting up with a startled engine rev that woke Wheeljack.

            _::Ratchet! Open the door, the sparkling is coming!::_

The medic barely had time to recognize Thundercracker's voice before the comm cut out. He was instantly on his feet, sending Wheeljack a data burst to let him know that he needed to prepare for an emergence. The white mech followed him as he very nearly ran down the stairs, sparing only a klik or two to check on Chase and Sunny, both of whom were still firmly in recharge. Hopefully the fact that their berths were in the apartment above the clinic would let them sleep through the coming chaos.

            Ratchet coded his door open and rushed forward to help Thundercracker as the blue Seeker very nearly dragged his mate through the door. Skywarp's knees were buckling as a surge rippled through his plating, making him gasp as he clutched at his mate's shoulders. "How far apart are the surges?" Ratchet demanded, helping the black Seeker onto the berth.

            "About five kliks." Thundercracker responded, his pleasant voice tight with concern. "I've always joked that Sky can sleep through anything, but I honestly didn't think that included stage one and two of emergence."

            "Just one of my m-many gifts..." Skywarp panted out as the surge tapered off, slumping back against the berth.

            Ratchet snorted faintly at that. "And they seem to last about a klik. You haven't got long, Skywarp. And thanks to your 'gift,' we're going to have to do this the natural way, barring any complications." The Seeker groaned in response to that, but said nothing. Thundercracker huffed in an amused way, receiving a rather vicious squeeze to his hand in response.

            "Rest while you can." Ratchet said with a faint smile. "We've got maybe a half-joor before you'll be ready to push. I can give you a little bit of pain suppressors, but I can't deaden your sensors; you'll need to be able to feel the surges so we can tell when you need to push."

            Skywarp nodded his understanding, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position on the berth. He was just settling down when he let out a startled yelp, optics flickering shut and his hand clenching down on his mate's. Thundercracker blinked, but didn't pull away. "That one was faster than expected."

            "Starting to transition. Scratch my previous prediction, we've got a breem at the outside. Wheeljack?"

            "I'm here. We're all ready." the white engineer responded to his mate's unspoken question, standing quietly to the side with the receiving blanket in his arms.

            Ratchet slipped an IV into Skywarp's near arm, adding a few pain suppressors to the mix before raising the berth to near vertical and stepping to the end. Skywarp shifted obediently as the berth moved, planting his pedes on waiting stands, not even balking when Ratchet moved between his legs. "Open please." Ratchet requested, and the Seeker didn't even hesitate to do as he was asked. Ratchet smiled faintly at this, as most carriers were reluctant to bare their valve, even though they had no doubt done so before for their medic.

            Skywarp's plating flared briefly as the next surge passed through his gestational chamber, and Ratchet timed it at nearly a klik and a half, roughly 3 kliks since the last surge had passed. Things were speeding up, but based on what he knew about Seekers, their emergences were always fairly quick once they hit the third stage. Seekerlings didn't waste any time; flightly and quick as they would be in adulthood.

            "Are you ready Skywarp?" Ratchet asked, meeting the black Seeker's optics. He chuckled softly at the audible reset of Skywarp's vocalizer before he was able to croak a 'yes' in response, and then smiled as Thundercracker pressed a kiss to the black helm.

            The emergence went almost by the datapad; steady, regular surges that Skywarp had no trouble pushing with, and an easy, fairly quick journey for the little Seekerling. Wheeljack leapt in just as the sparkling slipped from Skywarp's valve, lifting the tiny body into his arms and quickly suctioning out the infant's nose and mouth.

            The smiles on the two Seekers' faces were wide and relieved as a nano-klik later there was a soft gasp of vents and a fairly piercing cry, the sparkling announcing that he was awake and very much not pleased with being cold and wet. Wheeljack rubbed him down briskly, replacing the dirtied cloth with a fresh, warmed static blanket, wrapping the squirming body snugly to simulate the feeling of being in his carrier's gestation chamber.

            Skywarp was reaching out even as Wheeljack turned, eager to hold his sparkling for the first time. The engineer's fins were gleaming a delighted bright blue as he deposited the still crying infant into his carrier's arms. "A mechling; a little small, but perfectly healthy."

            Thundercracker was positively beaming, and Skywarp was already thrumming faintly to his infant, succeeding in calming the cries and wriggles. Tiny optics opened and onlined, and carrier and sparkling stared at each other for a long klik before the Seekerling cooed and settled down. Ratchet felt no need to step in as Skywarp's instincts took over; the Seeker shifted the infant like a pro, cradling him in one arm while presenting his feeding line, which the tiny Seekerling instantly latched onto, sucking strongly.

            A thrum from Thundercracker made Skywarp look up, and a moment of communication passed between the bondmates before the blue Seeker looked up to meet Ratchet's optics.

            "Star. His name is Star."

           

***********

 

            Though Skywarp and his new Seekerling were doing well and perfectly healthy, Ratchet still had them remain in the clinic for the rest of the off-cycle for observation, as well as rest. Thundercracker was overstressed and clearly exhausted, and so the medic had pushed a few berths together, ushered the blue Seeker to lay down with his mate and sparkling, and then left them to their own devices. He needn't of worried; all three were solidly in recharge by the time he reached the door to the upstairs apartment.

            Thankfully he had been right; Sunny and Chase had slept through the entire ordeal, and continued to sleep for the rest of the off-cycle. Ratchet and Wheeljack were woken at their normal time by soft twitters and chirps from the corner of their room, both twins demanding their breakfast as they usually did.  

            Skywarp was awake when Ratchet finally made his way downstairs, Chase cradled against his chestplate looking around curiously. The black Seeker was sleepily feeding his sparkling, leaning carefully against the wall as he did. He smiled as he saw Ratchet, and at the loud, curious chirp from Chase the tiny Seekerling in his arms looked around too, his lips popping off the feeding line.

            "Good morning." Ratchet said warmly as he moved closer. "How are you feeling?"

            "Tired still, and sore, but I'll admit that I'm better than I have been in some time. I feel like I've lost half my weight." Skywarp replied with a grin down at his infant, who was still staring with wide optics at the sparkling in Ratchet's arms. Both adults watched quietly as the two sparklings stared at each other before Chase let out a chitter, startling Star into responding with a squawk.

            Skywarp snorted faintly, and Thundercracker finally onlined his optics, sitting up and glaring at them. His bad mood evaporated, however, as soon as Star made optic contact with him and began to cheep insistently, his little hands making grasping motions. The blue Seeker's face immediately softened and he reached out, lifting the chirping Seekerling into his arms and cradling him close. Star trilled in a triumphant manner and rubbed his little face against his creator's chassis, making Thundercracker smile warmly.

            Ratchet watched this with a smile, and then offered Chase to Skywarp. "Would you hold him for a moment? After I get a scan of you and your little one you should be good to go home. It would be good for Star to go home, I think."

            Skywarp nodded with a happy smile, accepting the wriggling red sparkling and cooing at him faintly as Ratchet turned to scan Star. The Seekerling was watching Chase again, his red optics wide as he watched his carrier coo and click at the other sparkling. Chase giggled faintly at Skywarp, and then his optics met Star's, and for a moment there was another quiet staring contest. Chase sneezed, Star jumped with a squawk, and the adults laughed.

            "Sparklings are always interesting, that's for sure." Ratchet mused, his tone light and full of amusement. He smiled at Skywarp. "You're both healthy and good to go. Let me know if you need anything at all."

            "Thank you for everything, Ratchet." Thundercracker said warmly, glancing down at his sparkling before meeting Ratchet's optics once more.

            The medic felt a warm glow in his spark. "It's always a pleasure to see newsparks enter the world. You have no need to thank me. Now go, bring your sparkling home." 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of what I might call triggery content in this chapter. Angst ahoy!

            Life went back to normal again. Ratchet dealt with several more carriers over the course of the next cycle, had one more emergence, and each day played with and loved the twins more and more. It was amazing to be able to see the milestones that they were hitting; the first time that Chase rolled over on his own was one that made all of them laugh. The little sparkling was rolling back and forth on his back, happily chirping, twittering and humming away, when he had suddenly lost his balance and rolled over onto his belly.

            A long moment had passed, and Ratchet had chuckled at the look of utter surprise on Chase's little face. The sparkling shifted slightly, exploring his new position, and then looked around with a happy squeak, satisfied with his new view of the world. Sunny had watched this with a rather intense look, and shortly after had managed to duplicate his brother's accomplishment. Even though he was smaller than his brother, he seemed determined to keep up.

            Ratchet and Wheeljack had heard nothing from Prowl for the last few orns, and both were beginning to wonder if everything was just going to blow over without them ever hearing from the creators of their twins. Privately Ratchet hoped this would be the case; they were being allowed to keep the twins right now based on the fact that they had both been undernourished and unhealthy and it was better for them to be with a medic or doctor, but as soon as the creators were declared legally unfit  to care for the infants, it was likely they would be taken until the application to adopt was approved. While Ratchet doubted that there would be much of a time lapse between these two dates, he didn't want the twins to be away from them for any period of time.

            Things settled down, and the orn that they would find out if they could officially adopt drew nearer. Ratchet was positive that things were going to work out.

            The on-cycle before the call was due everything went wrong.

            The twins had been put down for their nap in the back room of the clinic, their new playroom, while Ratchet dealt with a few appointments in the room next to it so he would hear should the twins wake. Wheeljack was gone, off getting supplies for some experiment that he was working on for the local Enforcers. Ratchet was helping a small sparkling with a cough, gently asking him questions and examining him when he suddenly heard a crash. Blinking in surprise, the medic had stood and opened his mouth to excuse himself for a moment as well as apologize to the mech and his sparkling.

            Then Chase started screaming.

            Ratchet's spark stopped, and he turned and ran, his apology unspoken. He didn't even see the mech gasp in surprise, his hands automatically reaching out to his own sparkling at the screech of pure emotional distress.

            The door to the twins' playroom was open wide, which immediately let Ratchet know that someone had been inside. He barged in, and his optics took in the scene that would forever be in his processor.

            The crib's side was down, and the blankets were strewn everywhere across the floor. Chase was lying in the middle of the berth mat, little hands fisted and flailing, optics squeezed shut, back arching as he screamed at the top of his vocalizer. Toys were flung everywhere from where the chest had been knocked over, datapads were strewn across the floor.

            Chase was alone.

            Ratchet threw the side of the crib up so Chase couldn't roll his way out of it with his flailing, and then turned and ran. "SUNNY!" he screamed as he barreled through the waiting area, throwing open the front door and looking around for any mech. "SUNNY!!!"

            There was no one.

            His legs suddenly strutless, Ratchet sank to the ground, his spark shuddering in his chassis. He felt as though he would burst into tears, but the shock was too much. He couldn't think, couldn't draw in air. The door opened behind him and a small femme that he had known for vorns came out, and to his surprise she was cradling Chase, who was still wailing as loud as he could. "Ratchet?" she asked softly.

            "Did... did you see?" he stuttered out, his vocalizer glitching and static-filled. Wordlessly he reached out, taking Chase's writhing body from her. "Please, you saw...?"

            Her face saddened. "I didn't, Ratchet. They probably walked right past me. Everyone here had a sparkling today, I didn't..."

            "My sparkling..." Ratchet whispered, his spark breaking. "Someone took my sparkling..."

            Sunny was gone.

 

*********

 

            Time passed in a blur. Ratchet remembered Wheeljack coming at some point, talking to him quietly before leaving again. The medic's world had narrowed down to the distraught sparkling in his arms and the absence where the other tiny life should be. He hadn't managed to calm Chase; the red infant had cried so hard he had made himself sick, and eventually cried himself into exhausted recharge, and he was tossing and turning in Ratchet's arms, whimpering, tears still occasionally slipping down his little cheeks. Nothing Ratchet did seemed to help, and he was lost on what to do with the entire situation.

            "Ratchet?"

            Slowly Ratchet looked up, his optics meeting a bright blue band. He blinked, and then his processors recognized Jazz. The silver mech smiled at him, carefully sitting down beside him and speaking softly in an attempt to not wake the fitful sparkling. "Prowl was called in. We've got half the Enforcers looking for Sunny. We've got a basic description from the mechs in your clinic, and he can't have gotten far. We'll find him."

            Something in the white mech finally broke, and tears spilled down his face. "Why..." he whispered. "Why would someone take my sparkling?"

            Jazz shifted with a sigh through his vents. "We believe that it may have been one of the creators that we have been searching for. Prowl seems to think that they may have been spending this time figuring out where they were, and then decided that they wanted a sparkling after all. This does help to confirm a theory though." The silver mech turned his gaze to the whimpering sparkling. "There being two was unexpected. The creators panicked, and tried to get rid of them, which is why they were in the garbage."

            Ratchet blinked. "Unexpected? Then they would have had almost no medical contact during gestation. It's a miracle that they made it to emergence!"

            "Exactly." the silver mech nodded. "Now that they've heard that they survived, they decided that they really did want a sparkling, and then came to get one."

            Chase squirmed in Ratchet's arms, letting out a soft cry. The medic tried to sooth him, but once again his gentle voice went unheard. "Whoever this mech is, they are unbearably stupid. Separating split-spark twins is dangerous, and with ones this young it can be fatal. Their sparks are still nearly one, and distance between the two will cause them to become ill and eventually die."

            Jazz's visor slid into his helm, revealing wide, scared optics. "And with Sunny's weaker systems...."

            "We don't have much time." Ratchet finished.

 

*************

 

            Chase never stopped crying, even in recharge, and Ratchet had never felt more helpless in his entire life. When the sparkling was awake he spent most of his time screaming, the kind of screaming that came with back arching and scrunched faceplates. Ratchet was starting to get worried; Chase refused to drink any Energon, his systems were whining and distressed, and his spark pulse was getting more erratic by the joor.

            The orn faded into the off-cycle, and there was still no word. Wheeljack had returned once more, but had left Ratchet again after the medic had very nearly pushed him out the door, telling him that he needed to go look for their sparkling. He was alone with Chase, and he couldn't help but hate that that he had pushed Wheeljack to go. He didn't to be alone right now.

            Ratchet paced the clinic, Chase cradled against his shoulder as the sparkling recharged intermittently, exhausted and hurting. His helm jerked up at a ping at the door and after a long moment he made his way to it and manually opened it. To his surprise Skywarp was standing there, Star wrapped in a bundle in his arms and a look of concern on his features.

            "Skywarp?" Ratchet asked softly.

            The black Seeker smiled at him. "Hi Ratchet. Can I come in? I'm sure that it would be better if there were someone to sit with you. I'd be out helping, but..." he nodded his helm towards his sparkling. "Star just went into recharge."

            Surprised and yet extremely touched, Ratchet stepped aside and let the taller mech enter. Skywarp passed him and quietly found the mini berth to lay Star on, settling the Seekerling on the soft pad and pulling the blankets up to form a barrier so the infant wouldn't roll himself over, pulling up the sides to keep him safe. He then went to stand beside Ratchet, setting a long fingered hand on the medic's shoulder.

            Silence reigned for a while, Ratchet just glad to have the company. He sat on the berth, fingers stroking Chase's back as the sparkling whimpered. "Where's your mate?" he finally asked, needing to fill the quiet.

            "Thundercracker decided to go help look for Sunny. He went out about a half-joor before I got here." Skywarp replied, sitting on the berth beside Ratchet.

            A look of utter gratitude appeared on Ratchet's face, and Skywarp could tell that it was taking everything he had not to cry. The Seeker couldn't help the response that this garnered; he reached out, wrapping the medic in his arms as a soothing thrum started in his chest.

            Ratchet resisted for only a moment, and then he relented, very nearly falling against Skywarp's side and curling around Chase, who ended up pressed between them. The Seeker rocked slightly, cooing and clicking as he would to a distraught sparkling. Ratchet shuddered, his optics closing as he huddled in the black mech's embrace.

            "Thank you..." he whispered quietly after a long moment. "Thank you so much... you've both been so kind..."

            "I would do it for any friend." Skywarp said firmly.

            The two sat in silence for a long while, and for the first time in the last orn, Ratchet felt as though maybe things would be okay.

            There was a ping at the door.

            At that moment Chase came awake with a scream, startling Star into wakefulness with a cry. Ratchet jumped, and then leapt to his feet. Skywarp let out a faint squawk at the sudden movement, surprise flitting across his features as he started to stand to go to his sparkling, and then confusion as Ratchet quickly put Chase on the berth next to Star. As the medic rushed towards the door Skywarp stood, armor flared slightly and stance wary as he moved between the sparklings and the unknown threat, and then door opened to let them hear something that would haunt both mechs' processors for cycles to come.

            Crying. Sobbing. Coughing. And between the coughing frantic grabs for air, the sound of a creature that couldn't get any oxygen. Ratchet felt his spark stop at the whooping sound that accompanied the attempts to vent; there was no oxygen getting into the system with that sound.

            The mech standing in the doorway looked desperate, and clutched in his arms was Sunny, shaking, shivering, coughing hysterically and trying desperately to get air. "Please." the mech murmured. "I can't make him stop."

            Ratchet let out a roar, swiping the sparkling from the unknown mech even as Skywarp surged forward, slipping in behind Ratchet to deftly disable the mech. A quick tweak of a cable in the neck and the mech went down, leaving Skywarp to turn and try to help Ratchet. The medic quickly laid Sunny down on the berth, ripping a needle with a faint sedative from a nearby drawer and quickly pushing it into the sparkling's arm. Sunny continued to cough, and then slowly it stopped and the sparkling slumped to the berth as the sedative slowed his systems and allowed him to take in air.

            Skywarp turned his attention to Chase, who was screaming so hard his vocalizer was beginning to fuzz out. The Seeker lifted him, quickly bringing the crying infant to his twin, carefully lying them beside each other. Chase's cries slowly began to fade, and then he rolled towards his twin, pressing himself against the golden sparkling.

            A moment passed, and Ratchet felt as though every strut in his body had liquefied. He dropped next to the berth, gasping faintly, shuddering. Skywarp rushed to his own sparkling, cooing to him and apologizing softly for leaving him to cry for the few kliks it had taken to get everything taken care of. Star buried his face against his carrier's throat, bawling as his little hands fisted around whatever edges of Skywarp's armor he could grab.

            Ratchet shuddered for a moment, and then pushed himself back to his feet, knowing that despite the fact that Sunny was venting again, the danger was far from over. With that amount of stress on his tiny body, the golden sparkling was likely to get extremely ill in the next few orns. The fight for his life was just beginning.

            Sure enough, the first signs of a fever were beginning to set in and the sparkling was wheezing with every vent. The panic and stress of the last joors had sent his little body into overdrive, and it was driving up his temperature, accelerating his Energon usage, and kicking his processors into high speed. Sunny would most likely have issues recharging, be prone to purging, and a high fever. His venting was already affected because of his depleted oxygen systems, and so a cough was very likely. The only thing that made Ratchet feel slightly better was the evening out of both twins' spark pulses.

            "I've commed Prowl." Skywarp murmured, stepping closer as Ratchet began to set up a sparkling med-berth with raised sides for the twins. "They're on their way."

            "Good." Ratchet said, rather viciously. After carefully transferring both Chase and Sunny to the med-berth he turned and dragged the unknown mech into the twins' playroom and bolted the door. "I want this mech to pay for what he has done. He's quite possibly killed the twins. With Sunny's weaker systems this separation has been a massive setback; these next few orns will be difficult."

            Skywarp growled an agreement, his wings hiked high and angry on his back. Star was finally beginning to calm down in his arms, though he was still whimpering faintly and when Skywarp attempted to put him down he clutched tighter to his carrier with a faint wail. The black Seeker sighed faintly and resigned himself to holding his sparkling until he went into recharge once more.

            Sunny began coughing, and concern flew across Ratchet's face as he scanned the sparkling. Despite the fact that his temperature was up two degrees, the tiny infant was shivering, huddling against his larger twin with his face mashed against Chase's chest. Ratchet fetched a static blanket and carefully lifted Sunny, wrapping him up as quickly as he could when Chase began to whimper at the brief absence.

            "It's going to be difficult to separate them for a while, I think." Ratchet murmured as he began to tune a few monitors to Sunny's systems, getting a read on the sparkling's temperature, venting, and spark pulse. Chase squirmed faintly, and then stuck his fingers in his mouth and began to mouth at them. Ratchet was thrilled with this development; it was the first time all orn that Chase had showed any sign that he was hungry. Sparklings normally needed to eat at least 5 or 6 times an orn, and the fact that the red sparkling hadn't drank anything all orn was disturbing.

            Carefully, working not to separate them, Ratchet extended his feeding line and presented it to the sparkling. Chase onlined his optics, stared for a moment, and then latched on, sucking slowly and then taking stronger pulls as his orn of no Energon finally caught up with him. Ratchet cooed to him, rubbing his back in an attempt to soothe him so he wouldn't drink quite so fast and possibly make himself sick.

            He took the line away not long after, not wanting to upset the sparkling's tank. Chase made a face at this, but he didn't cry, merely tucked himself back against his twin and closed his optics. Ratchet took this moment to try and get Sunny to drink something; the golden twin squirmed and refused the line for a klik, but then Ratchet managed to get it into his mouth. Sunny sucked weakly on it for a few kliks, then twisted away. Nanokliks later, he hiccupped, coughed, and then spit up just about everything he had drank, crying feebly.

            Ratchet felt his spark break; Sunny was tired, hungry, sick, and that terrible mix of hot and cold, and he didn't understand. The sparkling sobbed softly, and Ratchet couldn't help but think that he was failing the little infant; Sunny was crying for him, asking why he wasn't making things better like he always did, and there was nothing Ratchet could do to make him feel better immediately. But to Sunny, Ratchet had always made everything better; when he was hungry, Ratchet was there with Energon, when he was sleepy, Ratchet held him until he went into recharge.

            Ratchet felt useless. His sparkling was hurting and he couldn't fix it. Sighing faintly, Ratchet carefully cleaned up the spit-up Energon and then started to set up a drip, knowing that Sunny needed Energon, even if his tank wouldn't hold it down right now. The crying turned into a sharp squeal at the prick of the needle, and at that Chase began to cry too, tears falling down his little cheeks.

            All the while, Ratchet cried right along with them, feeling smaller than he had ever felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point updates are probably going to stall.... Unfortunately I've written myself to a point where I'm not certain how to continue. I don't really have anyone to bounce ideas off of that knows the fandom well, so I'm a little bit stuck. If there's anyone who has the time, and would be willing to help, I'd love to get a little feedback! Hope that everyone enjoys this bit!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize so much for this chapter taking so long, and it's not even that long. Unfortunately I underestimated my workload this semester at college, and this last month I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. The only reason I managed to update my other story was that I had quite a backlog written, where as with this one I had gotten to a stand-still. I'm still having some difficulties, as I don't know much about legal things, so I'm sort of flying by the seat of my pants. I hope that the next chapter won't take nearly as long, though I must admit I'm having a lot of trouble. 
> 
> So many thanks go out to Allseer15, who has been so very helpful with this section and giving me ideas for the next bit. I couldn't have done it without you!!

****************************************        

            Prowl had arrived a half-joor after the mech had appeared on the doorstep of the clinic, worry and anger mixed on his face. Wheeljack immediately went to his mate, who was still sitting silently beside the twins' medberth, tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched the sparklings recharge. The engineer quickly wrapped his mate in a hug, murmuring softly to him while Ratchet shivered against his chest.

            Jazz watched with sad optics from the door, and Thundercracker wrapped an arm around Skywarp's waist, sadness on his features. Prowl, along with his elder brother and fellow enforcer Barricade, went to the back room, retrieving the still unconscious mech and carting him from the premises.

            ::We'll contact you in the morning, Wheeljack.:: Prowl commed the engineer. ::Spend the night with your mate and sparklings.::

            ::Comm if you need us.:: Skywarp added, his voice gentle and yet insisting. ::Anything at all.::

            ::Thank you.:: Wheeljack replied to both of them, turning his attention back to his family. Ratchet was pressed against his chest as tight as he could get, his face buried against his mate's throat and his hands clutching tightly around Wheeljack's waist. "It'll be okay, love..." Wheeljack murmured softly, stroking Ratchet's back and pressing a kiss to the top of his helm. "We got them back, and Sunny will be fine."

            "Almost lost him..." Ratchet whispered. "If that mech hadn't returned with him..."

            "Don't think about it." Wheeljack said firmly, leaning back and reaching down to take Ratchet's face between his hands. "The important thing is that Sunny is back with us, he's safe, and he's going to be fine, because you're going to make him better."

            Ratchet's expression crumpled. "But I can't make it better now! Sunny's hurting, he doesn't understand, and he just wants it to be better, and there's nothing I can do! I feel so useless!"

            Wheeljack sighed faintly. "You're not useless, Ratchet. You're making it better, just by keeping him warm and letting him snuggle with his twin. It's better because you're **_here_** when he needs you, even if you can't fix everything." There was a long moment of silence, and then Wheeljack seemed to realize, his optics widening slightly and his fins flashing a concerned lavender. His voice was soft when he next spoke. "He'll still love you, Ratchet."

            The medic shivered as his bondmate voiced the thing that he was silently fearing, and then pressed himself back to Wheeljack's chest. "I know..." he murmured. "I just... I feel like I should be able to fix everything."

            "I know. And you will fix it, you just need to give it a little time. Even you can't work miracles in a breem." Wheeljack smiled. "You need at least an orn for that."

            Despite himself Ratchet chuckled, the sound a little watery from his tears. He pushed himself back from his mate, wiped at his face, and then vented deep to try and still his trembling. Wheeljack waited quietly, and then went to drag out the fold-out berths. "Come on, let's get some recharge."

            But even though Ratchet settled in the berth with his mate, facing the twins' medberth, he remained awake for the rest of the off-cycle, watching the twins vent, listening to their quiet sounds and Sunny's coughing, wishing that he did have the power to work miracles with a snap of his fingers.

 

**************

 

            The next several orns were a struggle. Prowl had commed them in the morning for a statement, and then told them to expect a summons to court within the next cycle. Sunny's fever persisted, his venting grew rough once more as it had been when he had first been found, and he coughed nearly constantly. Ratchet did all that he could, pumping his little systems full of antibiotics, keeping a tiny venting mask on the sparkling's face, and doing everything he could to keep his tanks full. Silently grateful that he had gotten a hold of the mask not long after finding the twins, Ratchet made sure that it remained on Sunny's face. The infant fought it at first, but eventually just lay there, too tired and sick to care.

            Chase was miserable too; he was often quiet, just lying in the berth with his twin, occasionally crying softly when Sunny was taken from him from any period of time. He also developed a fever the next orn, but it thankfully stayed fairly low and was easily controlled, though it didn't help the little sparkling's mood. Wheeljack and Ratchet both tried to comfort him, hold him, but the red twin had whimpered and squirmed whenever he was lifted away from his brother. In the end, they had decided to just leave him alone, spending their time beside the medberth talking quietly to the two sparklings.

            Despite everything, though, the rising of the sun three orns later brought Sunny's venting finally evening out, and his fever broke in the early joors. Ratchet spent the morning holding both sparklings, quietly watching their, at last, peacefully sleeping faces, his spark so full of love for these little lives that he felt it would burst.

            "I'm so sorry..." Ratchet whispered. "I promise... I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. I won't ever let anything happen to you."

            Sunny shifted in his arms with a sigh, turning his face towards Ratchet's chassis and snuggling closer, one tiny hand curling around an edge of the medic's armor. Chase, curled in the opposite arm, pushed a leg towards his twin and went still, content with some part of him touching his other half. Ratchet smiled softly, leaning down to press a kiss to Sunny's golden forehead before doing the same to Chase.

            "I love you..."

 

**********

 

            Ratchet looked up at a ping at the front door, and then a wide smile spread across his face as Jazz poked his head in. "Jazz! It's good to see you!"

            The silver mech smiled widely, walking inside and coming to sit beside Ratchet where he was sitting against the wall. A blanket was spread out on the floor in front of him, both of the twins lying on their backs. Chase had his fingers in his mouth and was happily kicking his feet, rolling back and forth slightly. Sunny had a soft toy in his mouth, gnawing contentedly on it.

            Jazz settled beside Ratchet, letting out a slight groan as he did and putting a hand beneath the swell of his abdominal plates. Ratchet immediately scanned him, but Jazz waved him off with a smile. "I'm fine, it's not pain. He's just an active little bugger, and he's been growing fast."

            "Feeling a little stretched?" Ratchet asked with a smile.

            A snort answered him. "That's one way to put it. I have to admit though, it's all worth it every time I see Prowl's face whenever he feels him move." Jazz's face grew soft, and his hands smoothed over the curve of his abdomen. The silver mech turned his attention to the twins, who had been watching him with wide optics. As soon as his attention turned to them Chase let out a squeal, wriggling as hard as he could.

            Jazz laughed softly, reaching out and lifting the squirming sparkling into his arms. "Well hello there, little one!" Chase squealed and giggled as Jazz tickled his abdomen, a sensation that he had finally realized was funny the orn before when Wheeljack had been tickling him. The sound of his giggles had entranced both mechs and they had spent nearly a half-joor tickling the little mechling until he had resorted to slapping his tiny hands against theirs in an effort to get them to stop.

            The silver mech turned his attention back to Ratchet. “How’s Sunny doin? He certainly looks like he’s doing better, but he’s a little quiet.”

            Ratchet nodded, leaning down to lift Sunny into his arms. Sunny cooed at the white and red medic, a smile on his face as he was brought to snuggle against Ratchet’s chest plates. “He’s still a little weak; he has trouble venting sometimes when he gets excited, and so he’s been pretty mellow for the last few orns.”

            Jazz’s face saddened a little. “After the bad stuff that they went through when they were born, and then this…. Sunny’s going to be okay, right? He just needs a little time?”

            Ratchet rubbed a hand over his face, smiling down at Sunny softly as the sparkling chirped at him. “At this point… I don’t really know, Jazz. He could come out of this just fine with a little time, or this could affect him for the rest of his mechling days. When he’s finally full grown a surgery to replace the damaged parts in his O2 systems would be safe to do, but until then he’ll have to live with it.”

            Quiet fell for a moment, and then Jazz sighed. “Well, I’m not just here to visit. I’ve got a summons for you, Ratchet, as well as Wheeljack.”

            The medic nodded, reaching out to take the data pad from Jazz when the smaller mech held it out. “I knew it would be coming soon. I’ve sort of… shut myself out of the situation in an attempt to take care of Sunny and Chase. Can you tell me anything?”

            Jazz leaned back against the wall, putting Chase back on the blanket as the sparkling squirmed and reached for the toys that were scattered across the soft metallomesh. “We were correct; the mech identified himself as Burnout, the twins’ creator. He told us that their carrier died in emergence, and that he got rid of the sparklings in what he called a ‘fit of rage‘ because they took her from him.”

            Ratchet growled faintly, his plating flaring as he settled himself against the wall. Sunny stared up at him with wide optics at the sound, but made no sound in response. The medic shook himself, trying to dispel the rage. “Good for nothing scrap.”

            A snort answered him. “That’s putting it lightly. When asked about why he came back, he said that he thought he could replace his mate with one of the sparklings, but that he didn’t have the credits to care for both. That doesn’t surprise me, given what he told us about their situation before the twins even emerged. No contact with medical care, scavenging for Energon, and he was clearly under-energized, showing that he no doubt gave everything to his mate to try and support the twins.”

            Ratchet nodded. “It’s also no surprise that his mate didn’t make it through emergence. Odds are that every ounce of energy that she had went into making sure that they would survive, and their birth took the last of what she had to give. It really is a miracle that they made it through gestation, and as healthy as they were.”

            “The truly sad thing is that this is not as uncommon as you would hope.” Jazz said sadly, watching as Ratchet laid Sunny beside his twin, smiling when the two sparklings rolled towards each other and Chase promptly stuck Sunny’s fingers in his mouth. The tiny golden sparkling giggled at this, his little feet kicking. “We get reports of sparklings tossed aside at least once a metacycle, and I’ve even heard of mechs stealing sparklings to replace lost mates.”

            “An infant can’t replace a lost partner.” Ratchet scoffed faintly, though there was a smile on his features as he watched the twins interact with each other. “What was Burnout charged with?”

            “Kidnapping, breaking and entering, sparkling endangerment and abuse. Prowl and Barricade both want to add attempted murder to those, but we’re not certain how far we’re going to get with that charge. It’s on the docket, but it’s probably going to be dismissed.” Jazz replied. “We have to prove that he knew that his actions could have resulted in the twins' deaths, and that's a difficult thing, despite the fact that he threw them in the trash. It could easily get dismissed."

            Ratchet met the silver mech’s gaze. “Use me as an expert witness. I can testify to the fact that they would have died when they were abandoned, and I’ve got plenty of data to suggest that Sunny wouldn’t have lasted much longer when he was kidnapped.”

            Jazz blinked, his visor flashing, and then nodded with a faint grin. “We were going to bring you on as a witness regardless, but changing your status to expert witness might give us a bit of an advantage. However, it might be an issue given that you’re so close to the twins; they might call your credibility into account because you’re the twins’ creator now…”

            He was cut off as Ratchet let out a startled noise, his engine choking before revving in surprise and excitement. “I what?.!”

            Jazz blinked again, and then laughed. “Didn’t Skywarp call you? He told me that he was going to comm you earlier today! Go check your messages, I’ll bet that there’s something there that you’ll want to see.”

            Ratchet was on his pedes so fast that he nearly lost his balance and both Chase and Sunny looked up with startled squawks. There was a flashing message on the terminal, and Ratchet keyed it open with shaking fingers.

 

_“Congratulations,_

_The application to adopt has been approved and put through to the Senate to be_

_made official in the records. Please go to Sparkling Services to sign the final_

_paperwork, and we hope that you enjoy your new creations.”_

A note at the bottom from Skywarp said quite simply -- “ _There couldn’t be anyone better.”_

            For the second time in the last cycle Ratchet felt as though the struts in his legs had been removed, and he sank to the floor with a choked sound, his hand over his mouth. A soft sobbing sound escaped him, and then he surged back to his feet with a roar of excitement, running back to the play blanket and descending on the two sparklings lying there.

            Chase let out a squeal as Ratchet’s hand attacked his little stomach, giggling and shrieking as Ratchet tickled him, while Sunny clicked and squealed as his tiny hands patted at Ratchet’s helm when the medic pressed his face against the golden sparkling’s abdomen. “You’re mine!” Ratchet called in pure elation. “You’re officially mine!”

            _~Ratchet?~_

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh as Wheeljack's tentative voice came over their sparkbond, no doubt wondering what his mate was so happy about. _~They're ours, Wheeljack! The twins are ours!~_

_~Really?.! This is great! I'll be home in a breem!~_

The medic laughed again, gathering both twins to his chest and cradling them as they clicked and squeaked curiously, though happy to be in their caretaker's arms. Jazz watched all of it with a soft, happy smile on his features, glad to be able to witness this moment as a friend. Ratchet cuddled the sparklings close, settling back against the wall as happy tears fell down his cheeks.

            "You're mine... You're really mine..." he laughed as Sunny squeaked and clicked up him. "After everything that's happened, I was starting to think that this day would never come. I'm finally a Creator!" Chase wriggled in his arms, clicking and cooing at Ratchet as though worried that something was wrong with him. The medic pressed a rather sloppy kiss to the sparkling's forehead, making him squirm and squint his optics shut.

            Everything was falling into place. 


End file.
